Have you ever traveled? Have you ever rode a cruise line? Not everyone had an experience regarding a real ship, but let me tell you the experience. Once everyone is boarded, the captain will make an announcement to everyone, “Welcome to Cruise GALAXY! In a few moments now, we’ll be heading to the Carribean Sea, where we will see pirates along the course, sit back and enjoy the ride.” That’s just an example. Then the people are flabbergasted along the journey and safely alight the ship. There’s one thing that’s happening in the back end, in the direction going to the destination, it was not easy the first time the crew traveled, it had to take some experience before it had to be successful. My point? The captain had to lead everyone to the right direction. The leader had to navigate and chart the course in order for the travel to be safe, smooth and fast as possible.

Leaders claim themselves as leaders because they have positions. That is entirely wrong! Leading is totally different if people are inspired to follow you. If they’re afraid, you’re just a boss, meaning they’re being compliant out of your title and because they want to keep a job. Well, there’s hope in that. Of course, you can still change but trust me when I say you this. CHANGE is going to be DIFFICULT. You’ve been so used to what you’re doing and you will have to bend yourself because it’s for the best and in the long run you will have to benefit from it.

Navigation? Yes! “Many people can steer the ship but it takes a LEADER to chart the course.

”When you prepare well, you convey confidence and trust to the people… You see it’s not the size of the project that determines it acceptance, support and success. It’s the size of the leader… Leaders who are good navigators are capable of taking their people just about anywhere.”

A navigator has a different kind of perspective:

Farther than others see. A leader has to see the problem and make a resolution even if they’re hundreds of miles away, the resolution is being formulated in their minds before uttered.

More than others see. It’s not about what your people need for the time being, it’s about going the extra mile in preventing the predicament to happen again, once solved. A leader does not rely on a temporary solution. He is WILLING to fail and test his limits. “YOU’RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR WEAKEST LINK PERFORMS”

Before others see. Smart people solve the problem, geniuses prevent the problem from happening. Strategic planning is to be done in order for the issue not to recur.

A leader was not placed because of pulse rate, it was for a purpose. It’s his burden to bear.

A burden purifies motives. The passion and desire to succeed is there since you have to be on top of everything and be the leader of the people. You are trusted with utmost presence. And this is what keeps you going.

A burden cultivates persistence. It’s not going to be easy. The level of difficulty increases as you go along, but don’t get me wrong. It will get better because you too are getting better.

A burden cements conviction. You have to take ownership of the leadership, no more no less. The last person to leave the ship is the captain.

Summing it up:

Leaders not only know where they’re going; they also know how to get there.

Leaders find purpose in needs around them.

Leaders not only know where they’re going; they also take people with them.

Leadership is an ongoing process and it develops daily. A lot of us try to disappoint ourselves by one mistake not knowing that we must give ourselves a chance to improve. I would always want to go back to the principle of the pencil (I’ll deal with that shortly). We are too busy making each day perfect, making each day not fail. I’m not saying that you fail every day, but in order for us to reach success we must be able to F.A.I.L.

F-irst A-ttempt I-n L-earning
“Sometimes you win, Sometimes you LEARN” This was a quote from John Maxwell, one of the leadership gurus. It says a lot, because as a leader, you must be able to handle failures in order for you to drive your team to success. Leadership is a process not an overnight report. From these failures, you have to learn. From these failures, you have to get better. And I strongly believe that every great and successful leader’s advantage is that they failed more than TEN TIMES! As you got through the process of whatever endeavor, you will experience failing at least once. Keep in mind, don’t make failure a habit! Learn from it and apply a different strategy in the future.

At this part I would like to give down an excerpt of the PENCIL PRINCIPLE:

First, everything you do will always leave a mark; that is to say in life, there are four things you can’t get back. The stone, after the throw. The word, after it is said. The action, after it is done. And the time, after it has passed. So be careful of what you throw, of what you speak, of what you do and of what you let pass by. Because, though your footsteps may not always be loud, your footprints leave a silent message of where your soul has traveled!

This goes the same with our lives as leaders, anger management may be one of our favorite hobbies, we have to be careful

Second, you can always correct the mistakes you make; Your ‘Past’ is not your pass to fail. Do not allow what happened to you minutes ago, days ago, weeks ago, months ago or years ago be the reason for you not to strive towards success for your life. Stop looking for reasons to fail or finding fault with your lacking and slacking. Your past is past, your present is present and your future is all in your hands. Yes, you may not be able to turn back the hands of time and undo the wrongs you’ve done in the past but you can surely start now and make a brand new ending. It’s not how you start but how you end and just because the past is painful doesn’t mean the future will be the same, so never allow events of the past change the course of the future. You are who you are from your past. But you will be who/what you want to be from the creation of your future, which is in your hands. The past is lessons to learn. The present is opportunity to practice those lessons and the future is time to enjoy those lessons learned and practiced.

Act on your lead measures and make your score outstanding! No more, no less!

Third, what is important is what is inside you; ultimately, throughout your life, you become either your own worst enemy or your own very best friend. This love or hate relationship is quietly inside each of us. This relationship with yourself affects everything that you do, every thought you have and choice of actions you take or don’t take, daily. It is greatly linked to how you treat and love others in your life. This relationship with yourself is always against your self-progression or it is for it.

Fourth, in life you will undergo painful sharpening which will make you a better pencil. I guess if it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger. That is to say, you deal with whatever pain that you have by building a bridge over it with all the things that life hasn’t taken away from you. Indeed, with each tear comes a lesson that makes you wiser than before, a lesson that makes you stronger than you know, yes each tear brings you closer to your dreams.

And most important is, to be the best pencil you can be, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the Hand that holds you. Through times of struggle and challenge, look to God; he uses these opportunities to teach and strengthen you. These challenges are great opportunities for your success as they bring out the best in you while you grow to appreciate the simplest things in life and possess the humility that God requires. A man was asked, “How can you believe in God when the world has many problems?” The man replied, “With all these problems, how can you possibly make it without God?” After you’ve done the best that you can do and you’ve spent all the passion, courage and effort you have, but things still seem out of reach, then this is the time for you to ask God if what you’ve tried to achieve is what He wants you to have. Because sometimes we waste our time chasing something that is not meant for us, while we ignore what God has prepared for us. So whatever you do, always remember that we are like pencils, our true worth lies within us, we are in God’s hands and he uses us, we are sharpened in life by events and situations but most importantly, we are expected to LEAVE A MARK!

There’s always a time to mature and there will be trials that can strengthen you. The good news is that your leadership ability is not static, no matter where you’re starting from, you can get better, AMELIORATE!

Do you know how the best coffee is created? It is made out of an idea by a person who said, “How can this be drunk?”

Have you ever tried interrogating yourself, asking the same question, “Can I really make it?” Let me say this, you are not alone! I’m with you with that struggle. It’s not only once, not only twice, but I guess, more than a hundred! I’ve tried to overcome this predicament with some steps I’ve formulated based on experience. Let me share it with you.

Decision to Succeed

After long processions of questions, I began to decide to achieve something. The problem with people trying to be successful, they focus on that super BIG idea of the goal. Don’t get me wrong, there is no problem with that. The problem is that we don’t focus the little things that we can do before achieving the big thing. Take this as an example, you want to have a six-pack abs. Question? Can you do it one day? Definitely not. You have to begin by putting yourself in a discipline, an exercise that would make those baby fats go away first, and then, comes the part of doing vigorous and monstrous training. Get the point? Begin with what you can do little to achieve the BIG!

Mindset Change

I have been thinking of the problems as to how can I freaking make it, I made a change of mindset and began thinking, “How can I make it?” In my case, “How can I start my business?” We often get stuck by thinking of the predicament that lies ahead and we’re too focused on it, friends, I tell you, there’s more than what you can see in the problem. Focus on the success that you can achieve.

Self-Affirmation

I made sure to say these words every single day, “Every day in every way, I am getting better, better and BETTER.” What matters is you learn something that’s essential to what you want to achieve, as I’ve mentioned, you don’t bring success on the table overnight. You can’t lose 100 pounds in 1 day. I can have you tortured for 2 hours by 4 bouncers but would you be happy with that success? Absolutely not. Begin to believe in yourself, get better every day, learn something new and make everyday a fruitful experience. Trust me, you will laugh at yourself when you already reached what you wanted.

Scribble It!

Write what you want to accomplish, make yourself engaged. I have a notebook for my dreams, there are parts in it. The first part of the my notebook contains all of my dreams (It’s a long line! Yes. I have a lot!), the second part has the dream (ex. Going to Boracay) and along with it has the action steps I am going to make in order for me to complete it and of course, I have the date when I am supposed to make that action step. It sounds like it’s OC but it can help you. How? As long as you are engaged in your dream, you begin to feel pressured, you begin to be excited, you have mixed emotions and finally, you’re going to do it because you want it accomplished.

These are just some of the steps I made to achieve something, my dream. Your dream can be anything even as simple as cutting your finger nails. What you need to do is focus on the small steps you need to achieve in order for you to make it. Think of the “HOWs,” there will be tough times, that’s true but whether what you’re undertaking right now. I know, you can achieve it.

Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.

You’re never going to achieve something unless you execute on it. As young as I am, I have been exposed to this world at a time wherein I am not prepared. Hence, this has given me a vantage point over others of my age, at the same time a detriment to my being. When you explore, you are curious about things in life. When you find paths, you challenge yourself in things you’ve never tried. But when you venture, you are in for an adventure and prepared to apply the things that you’ve learned and make the best out of life.

Vantage Point.

Through the experiences that I have gained, this has made me emerge over others of my age and even older than me. I have learned a myriad of lessons the hard way. I had to succumb into learning where it is unprecedented, unwelcome or even unwanted. Nevertheless, these scenarios have made me a better person of what I am right now. There are people who have influenced me to be the person I am right now, and if I am not receptive to their unsolicited feedback, I might have held a grudge over them and not have appreciated what they wanted to instill in my mind, heart and spirit.

Leadership, business, scouting and management have been the topics I always wanted to learn and I have incurred mentors for each of it, each giving me lessons and each imparting great contributions. I can say that I am better for what I have learned from them.

Detriment. How come? That is the question.

People might be thinking that I am so lucky that I have achieved a lot in my life. Yes, it is true, though there are a lot of things to consider now. I am 21 years old only but the crowd shall always make me remind that I talk, think and act like I am 30 now. What a great advantage right? Actually it is not. There are things I can’t do right now because of what I hold, like the following:

Act like a kid

Play and have fun (more)

Blend in with people my age (I find them awkward now)

And anything that you may think that a 21 year old guy will do

I don’t regret and will never because from these I’ve learned that I am destined for more and not be with the crowd, instead rise up and be better than anyone else.

Quintessence of a Gentleman

I shall elaborate more on this on my next article. There are things that BOYS and MEN do differently. As of the time being I don’t act like a BOY anymore and people would rather appreciate the strong personality of being a GENTLEMAN rather than a childlike figure of me. As I come to age more, 2 days from now, I care more about finding my success. This has been collaborated with my significant other (GMC). I would want a ROLEX rather than some watch. In essence, my paradigm has already shifted from the morals I’ve had.

Escapade

I am still young and I am prepared to do the stuff I haven’t done before. I am willing to try things that are not accepted in the status quo. I am willing to exceed my limitations and I am going to work hard for me to be the best. When it rains, all the birds hide, only the EAGLE will soar high to the clouds and avoid it.